Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees to be called Empire State Yankees in 2012

Since the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees stadium is being renovated during the 2012 season and they will play all of their home games in other stadiums, mainly in the state of New York, the team will be known as the Empire State Yankees in 2012. It does make sense to change the name for the season since they aren’t playing in their normal home, but I think a bigger reason is to sell additional merchandise. Someone in Rochester who is going to see AAA Yankee games is more likely to buy something that says Empire State than Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. It will be for one season only since the team will be returning to Pennsylvania in 2013.